Gaming machines such as coin and slot machines, and pinball machines and similar entertainment devices, are customarily provided with toppers, i.e., for example, a screen which may be disposed vertically to extend upwardly, or which may be disposed generally horizontally, but in either instance, located in front of the machine player and on which appears art work depicting a scene establishing a theme for the machine, and containing values, or places, achievable by the player in the course of operating the machine. Such toppers are frequently equipped with a power assisted mechanical pointer/director which is motor driven through a mechanical transmission. The pointer/director is carried on rails, or rods, or tracks, necessitating the provision of routings or openings on the arted panel of the topper. The pointer/director may be guided to a designated position on the arted panel which informs and cues the player as to the value, or place, or feature, such as a bonus round, that the player will be awarded upon continuing play on the gaming machine or amusement device.
In one such prior art machine in current usage, a topper includes a three-dimensional figure which is movably mounted on a pole that extends upwardly into and through the arted panel on the topper towards a goal at the top of the topper. The figure has, or is given, an allotted amount of playing time, or an allotted number of handle pulls, to reach the goal. The figure “climbs” against the back drop of an arted topper in a display field containing values disposed at spaced apart sites offering awards to the successful player who continues to operate the machine. Because of the necessity of employing structural interruptions in the arted panel, the topper is subject to severe restrictions as to potential utility.